Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
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J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Nov 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA prospective, randomized, blinded comparison of multiplane and biplane transesophageal echocardiographic techniques.
Although multiplane transesophageal echocardiography has become an accepted diagnostic technique, there is a paucity of literature directly comparing the diagnostic yield of multiplane and biplane transesophageal examinations. This study was designed to compare the ability of multiplane and biplane transesophageal echocardiographic techniques to visualize intracardiac structures. Complete multiplane and biplane transesophageal studies were performed on each of 50 patients (100 total studies) referred to the echocardiography laboratory for elective transesophageal echocardiography. ⋯ Several individual structures were visualized significantly better (p < 0.05) by the multiplane technique, including the left upper pulmonary vein, fossa ovalis, left main coronary artery, and proximal ascending aorta. The subjective score of overall adequacy of the study for addressing the clinical indication showed a strong trend (p < 0.06) in favor of the multiplane technique, with higher scores in 11 of 50 multiplane studies versus three of 50 biplane studies when the two techniques were compared in individual patients. Therefore multiplane transesophageal echocardiography provides superior overall visualization of intracardiac structures compared with biplane studies, particularly for the left upper pulmonary vein, fossa ovalis, left main coronary artery, and ascending aorta.